Cowboys May Cut Ties With Former 1,200-Yard Pro Bowl Playmaker

The Dallas Cowboys running back room is crowded, but it remains to be seen if this will lead to improved production in 2025. Dallas is in search of a new starting running back with Rico Dowdle departing to the Carolina Panthers during NFL free agency.

The Cowboys signed a pair of veterans in Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders this offseason. Additionally, the Cowboys drafted two running backs on Day 3 by taking fliers on Texas Longhorns standout Jaydon Blue and Clemson Tigers playmaker Phil Mafah.

Dallas has seven running backs on their roster with Deuce Vaughn, Malik Davis and Hunter Luepke returning as well. It is safe to say not all seven running backs will make the final roster.

Let’s explore why Sanders could be a potential cut candidate for Dallas in the coming months.

Cowboys RB Miles Sanders in Danger of Being Cut, Says Analyst

USA Today’s Ben Grimaldi floated a list of five players who are on the roster bubble following the NFL draft. The analyst believes Sanders has some work to do in order to solidify his spot on the final roster.

“The Cowboys signed the veteran running back late in free agency and he felt like a place (holder) in case the draft plans didn’t pan out,” Grimaldi wrote in a May 3, 2025, story titled, “5 Cowboys who may not make the 2025 roster includes second-round picks.” “With the team drafting not one, but two RB prospects, Sanders is clinging to his roster spot by a thread.

“… Sanders doesn’t present any of the upside that Blue has and the veteran RB will likely be fighting it out with another rookie RB, seventh-round selection Phil Mafah, for a spot on the roster. Mafah is a big, physical RB, more traits that Sanders does not possess. Sanders needs a strong offseason and training camp to make the Cowboys.”

Dallas Can Cut Ties With Miles Sanders Without Taking a Financial Hit

Bringing on Sanders was a low-risk move for Dallas, especially given his contract. Sanders inked a one-year, $1.3 million contract with just $167,500 guaranteed, per Spotrac.

Fans may remember Dallas made a similar move last offseason for Royce Freeman. The Cowboys ended up releasing Freeman before Week 1 as the team finalized their 53-man roster.

The Cowboys are likely hoping Sanders can regain the form that the veteran had with the Philadelphia Eagles. Sanders’ best season came with the Eagles in 2022 when the running back posted 259 carries for 1,269 yards and 11 touchdowns in his lone Pro Bowl campaign.

Javonte Williams Predicted To Be the Cowboys Starting Running Back

After signing with the Panthers, Sanders was unable to show similar production that the rusher displayed in Philly. Sanders is coming off the worst statistical season of his career, posting 55 carries for 205 rushing yards and two touchdowns in 11 appearances in 2024.

The Athletic’s Saad Yousuf projects Williams as the early favorite to be the Cowboys starting running back.

“It’s a stacked running back room, in terms of sheer numbers, but there isn’t really a clear-cut No. 1 bell cow back,” Yousuf wrote in an April 30, article titled, “Cowboys post-draft depth chart reset: Only 1 position remains as glaring need.” “It’s worth noting that head coach Brian Schottenheimer did not commit to a committee approach for the season after the draft, saying, ‘it’s too early.’

“Last year, the Cowboys advertised a running back-by-committee approach early in the offseason and stayed with that for far too long before turning things over to Rico Dowdle. The hope would be that one of the top three guys — Williams, Sanders or Blue — is able to separate himself as the lead back, with others filling in with designated roles.”

Way-Too-Early 2025 Heisman Trophy Picks: Top Contenders and Dark Horse Candidates

The Heisman Trophy became an increasingly homogeneous honor through the first quarter of the 21st century. The top two contenders for the Heisman in 2024 defied convention, as a Group of Five running back (Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty) and a two-way playmaker from a team out of the national title race (winner Travis Hunter from Colorado) made for one of the most captivating competitions in recent memory.

Might last season signal the beginning of a trend in which the leading Heisman candidates don’t need to be quarterbacks in offenses built to inflate the position’s numbers? And can Group of Five players realistically enter the fray after 11 years passed between any such candidates reaching New York?

While last season’s race is unlikely to become the norm, the early frontrunners for 2025 include some unconventional names alongside the typical Heisman contenders.

QB Arch Manning, Texas

On-field production certainly matters for building a Heisman argument, but even the most productive candidates need hype to get to New York. Perhaps no player will head into the 2025 season with more hype than Arch Manning, the former No. 1 overall recruit poised to quarterback Texas after its run to the national semifinals.

Manning whet the appetites of those eager to see him command the Longhorns full-time with 61 completions on 60 pass attempts last season, gaining 939 yards and scoring nine touchdowns. The scenarios he’ll face in 2025 will differ from the situations Manning encountered in limited playing time as a freshman, but what he was able to show in 2024 looked worthy of the hype.